Balladeer’s Blog’s end of the year retrospective resumes with this look at the Best of August:
One of the most misleading movie posters in history.
SAINT JACK (1979) – My review of this controversial movie which was part gangster movie, part spy drama and part expatriate adventure.
The film is one of those “love it or hate it” flicks and the behind the scenes drama rivaled the intrigue being presented on-screen. Click HERE.
FRONTIERADO ITEMS – Charlie Siringo, cowboy, bounty hunter and private detective HERE. Jefferson Smith, 1800s gangster HERE. Canyon Diablo, most lawless town of the old west HERE.
JOE BIDEN’S AFGHANISTAN DEBACLE – Several items regarding Biden’s inept departure from the previously decided upon withdrawal procedures, plus the needless tragedies which followed. Click HERE.
JOE BIDEN: EVEN WORSE THAN EXPECTED – More fallout from Biden’s Afghan catastrophe. Click HERE.
BIDEN: THE WORLD WAS WARNED – Joe Biden’s non-campaign in 2020 demonstrated what a disaster he would be if given global responsibilities. Click HERE.
BRITISH PARLIAMENT HOLDS JOE BIDEN IN CONTEMPT – Fallout from Biden’s Afghan failures continued. Biden’s predecessor was never held in contempt by the British Parliament for failing our allies. Click HERE.
BRITISH NEWS OUTLET CALLS OUT DEMOCRAT MEDIA OUTLETS FOR THEIR COMPLICITY IN
JOE BIDEN’S BLOOD-SOAKED FAILURES – And for not covering him in 2020 the way all previous presidential candidates had been covered. Click HERE.
JOE BIDEN’S “DUMKIRK” FIASCO STILL UNFOLDING – So much suffering because of the vanity of a little man who should never have been anywhere near the Oval Office. Click HERE.
BIDEN DESERVEDLY SLAMMED BY SURVIVING FAMILY MEMBERS OF JOE’S AFGHAN DEBACLE – Biden’s callous replies to the suffering mourners, too. Click HERE.
ANCIENT SCIENCE FICTION – A Journey in the 29th Century (1824) HERE, The Year 4338 (1835) HERE.
THE BETSY (1978) – A review of the Lawrence Olivier/ Robert Duvall/ Tommy Lee Jones movie about the auto industry and soap opera antics. Click HERE. Continue reading
Joe Biden, accused rapist, proven racist and career criminal who, 
A CHRISTMAS CAROL (2020) – Christmas Carol-A-Thon 2021 comes to a close with this review of the criminally underrated version of A Christmas Carol that was released last year. This production is easily one of the most beautiful adaptations of the Dickens classic. 
And what thespians! The voice of Andy Serkis is heard, in addition to those of Sian Phillips, who apparently will never die, and Leslie Caron, whom I thought had already died. Serkis provides the dialogue for Marley’s Ghost and Old Joe. Phillips is the narrator whose wonderful performance ties it all together and Caron provides the voice for the Ghost of Christmas Past. 
A CHRISTMAS CAROL (1950) – This production of A Christmas Carol was shown on the BBC on December 25th and December 27th, 1950. Bransby Williams starred as Ebenezer Scrooge, John Ruddock played Bob Cratchit with Robert Cawdron as Nephew Fred. 
MS SCROOGE (1997) – Balladeer’s Blog’s Twelfth Annual Christmas Carol-A-Thon is fast approaching its finale. This time around I’m reviewing Ms Scrooge, a Hallmark TV movie starring the revered actress Cicely Tyson as Ebenita Scrooge. 
The main distraction in this telefilm is the one that afflicts many other attempts to set A Christmas Carol in more modern times – employers cannot, and for decades haven’t been allowed to, treat their employees the way that Scrooge treats Bob Cratchit in the original story. Some modern adaptations avoid the problem by just making vague references to Ebenezer’s merciless running of their business, and in my opinion that works the best. Unfortunately this Hallmark presentation constantly takes you out of the story with blatantly illegal conduct by Scrooge. 
THREE BIZARRELY WATCHABLE MOVIES – My review of the neglected movies Darker Than Amber (1970), Bloodbath (1975) and Circle of Power (1981). Very odd but very watchable. Click 
RYAN DRAKE NOVELS BY WILL JORDAN – Balladeer’s Blog’s look at the series of Ryan Drake spy novels written by the one and only Will Jordan. Click 
GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY: THE ORIGINAL TEAM – I examine the Guardians’ stories from 1969-1977. Click 
FRONTIERADO PARTY ESSENTIALS – The official list. Click 
FOOL KILLER: JULY 1912 – The Fool Killer targets abuses by the monied class and follies by America’s political establishment. Click 
Because December 21st is the shortest day of the year, Balladeer’s Blog always runs articles about short films, short presidential administrations (Yes, William Henry Harrison) and similar topics. This year I’m pandering to the insatiable superhero audience with this look at a Marvel Comics title that was INTENTIONALLY published as a one-shot item, making it the shortest series run imaginable. 
Previous articles here have dealt with the way that, for part of the 1960s, Marvel was limiting how many titles it had hitting newsstands. That meant publishing some of their heroes in one monthly publication, with each character getting a story covering half the issue. Iron Man and Captain America shared Tales of Suspense, Sub-Mariner and the Hulk shared Tales to Astonish. 
The trouble was, both Iron Man and Sub-Mariner had one more half-issue length story left and ready to be printed, but there were no more split comic book titles to accommodate them. So, Marvel Comics published one lone issue of a comic book titled Iron Man and Sub-Mariner. 
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